A127/A13

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been  (a) killed and  (b) seriously injured on (i) the A127 and (ii) A13 between the M25 and Southend in (A) each of the last five years for which figures are available and (B) 2006 to date.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of people killed or seriously injured in personal injury road accidents that have been reported to the police, on (i) the A127 and (ii) A13 between the M25 and Southend in each of the last five years from 2000 to 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available), is given in the following table. Main results on personal injury road accidents reported to the police in 2005 will be published shortly. Figures for 2006 will become available in summer 2007.
	
		
			   Severity of casualty 
			   Fatal  Seriously injured 
			  (i) Number of killed or seriously injured casualties on the A127: 2000-04   
			 2000 3 43 
			 2001 5 52 
			 2002 2 27 
			 2003 11 51 
			 2004 6 35 
			
			  (ii) Number of killed or seriously injured casualties on the A13 between its junction with M25 and the junction with A127 in Southend town centre: 2000-04.   
			 2000 2 32 
			 2001 7 41 
			 2002 4 40 
			 2003 7 49 
			 2004 4 36

Marine Environment

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria are used to identify Marine Environment High Risk Areas.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 8 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 1519-21W to the hon. Member for St. Ives (Andrew George).

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 12 April from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire on Interest in Possession Trusts.

Dawn Primarolo: I expect to be in a position to write to the hon. Gentleman in about a week's time in the light of the forthcoming debate in the Finance Bill standing committee on inheritance tax provisions to which your letter refers.

Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claims there have been for tax credits in Birkenhead constituency at the latest available date; and how many were  (a) overpaid and  (b) underpaid.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates for 2003-04 and 2004-05 of the numbers of in-work families with tax credits awards, including information on overpayments and underpayments by constituency, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are published in "Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards 2003-04 Geographical Analysis" and the "Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards 2004-05 Geographical Analysis". These publications and provisional estimates for the number of in-work families by constituency with tax credit awards as at selected dates in 2005-06 are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm

Tax Credits

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people in Wales have received overpayments in  (a) child tax credits and  (b) working tax credits in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; what the average overpayment was to such people; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people in Wales have received underpayments in  (a) child tax credits and  (b) working tax credits in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; what the average underpayment was; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates for 2003-04 and 2004-05 of the numbers of in-work families with tax credits awards, including information on overpayments and underpayments, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are published in "Child and Working Tax Credits Finalised Awards. 2003-04: Geographical Analyses" and the "Child and Working Tax Credits Finalised Awards. 2004-05: Geographical Analyses". These publications and provisional estimates for the number of in-work families by region with tax credit awards as at selected dates in 2005-06 are available on the HMRC website at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm.
	We do not produce statistics separately for child and working tax credits.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the amount of tax credit overpayments in  (a) 2003-04 and  (b) 2004-05 which will be recovered in each year from 2004-05 to 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on the 8 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 861-62W.

Correspondence

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of4 April from the hon. Member for Aylesbury (reference B9272/6) about the application for leave to remain of Mr. S. K. of Aylesbury (case reference K426659).

Liam Byrne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the hon. Member on 14 June 2006.

Criminal Justice Act

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional probation officers will be recruited in the London area to provide increased supervision of defendants following the implementation of the custody plus provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 12 June 2006
	In September 2004, prior to the start of the Act's implementation, staffing in London probation area stood at 2,459. By April 2006 it had risen to 2,759. The area is looking at further increases to take account of work arising from the Act and its other responsibilities.
	Most of the sentencing provisions in the Criminal Justice Act were implemented in April 2005. We are working towards an implementation date of autumn 2006 for custody plus but we shall not go ahead unless we are satisfied that the national probation service can cope with the additional work.

Miscarriages of Justice

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding applications for compensation are being considered by the Independent Assessor to the Home Secretary on Miscarriages of Justice, broken down by the number of years the case has been under consideration.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are currently 27 cases with the Independent Assessor for final assessment of compensation. Of those, two were submitted to him more than two years ago, two others more than one year ago. Those four applications form part of a large number of applications that arose from a series of quashed convictions relating to a wide-ranging fraud case. There are complex and overlapping issues affecting the whole group. All the applicants involved, including those who made final submissions, have been asked for further information in relation to their application. In a number of cases replies have not been received. The remainder were submitted to him within the last 12 months. Of those, 12 were submitted within the last three months, three between three and six months ago, seven between six and nine months, and one, also arising from the complex fraud case referred to, between nine and 12 months.
	The four cases referred to the Assessor more than one year ago have all had interim payments awarded by him, and of the remaining 23 which were referred within the last year, 20 have had interim payments.
	A further 109 cases have had eligibility for confirmed by the Home Secretary. In these cases final submission have not been made by the applicants and information regarding the level of compensation being claimed is awaited from the applicants or their representatives, before final assessments can be considered by the Assessor.

Mohammed Hussain

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the use of restraint on Mohammed Hussain in Rainsbrook secure training centre between July and August 2005;
	(2)  whether oxygen was provided to Mohammed Hussain following an incident of restraint at Rainsbrook secure training centre between July and October 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I will write to the hon. Member.

Police

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA profiles of individuals  (a) under and  (b) over 16 years old living in North Somerset are held by Avon and Somerset constabulary; and how many have not been convicted of a criminal offence in each case.

Joan Ryan: There are an estimated 67,556 individuals who have a DNA profile on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) taken by Avon and Somerset constabulary, of which 1,994 are currently under 16 years of age and 65,562 are 16 years or over (as at 30 May 2006). Information held on the NDNAD is available on a police force area basis only and although the DNA sample in these cases was taken by Avon and Somerset constabulary, the individuals to whom the sample relates will not necessarily be resident in Avon and Somerset.
	Data on whether these individuals have been convicted or acquitted of a criminal offence is held on the police national computer (PNC) but not on the NDNAD.
	PNC data are available for 60,521 individuals only, of which 1,490 are under 16 years of age and 59,031 are 16 years or over. Of the 1,490 persons who are under 16, 1,243 have not been convicted of an offence and of the 59,031 persons who are 16 years or over, 15,824 have not been convicted of an offence. (It should be noted that for the purposes of these data, cautions are included as non convictions.)
	The difference of approximately 7,000 individuals between the NDNAD records and the PNC records is largely accounted for by the fact that, until recently, records for persons who were acquitted of an offence were removed from the PNC, but retained on the NDNAD. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the ages of these 7,000 who were acquitted as the records are no longer available.

Prisoner Transport

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1220W, on prisoners,
	(1)  how many  (a) pregnant and  (b) mobility impaired prisoners have been transported in cellular vehicles in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many complaints have been made in each of the last five years about the transportation of (a) pregnant and  (b) mobility impaired prisoners; and what the nature was of each complaint;
	(3)  on how many occasions in each of the lastfive years  (a) pregnant and  (b) mobility impaired prisoners have not been assessed by prison operational managers and health care professionals prior to transportation; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There is no requirement in the contracts for contractors to record separately the movement of pregnant and mobility impaired prisoners. Information on the transport of pregnant or mobility impaired prisoners in cellular vehicles is not recorded centrally.
	There are a number of methods by which prisoners may make complaints. These are to prison staff at the establishment or to the senior operational manager as well as to Prison Service HQ. Complaints may also be made by prisoners under transport to the contractors. It has not proved possible to separate out complaints made by or about pregnant or mobility impaired prisoners from available records.
	All prisoners should be assessed as being fit for travel by a health care professional before being transported. Guidance has been issued to all women's prisons to remind them of correct assessment procedures and there is a strong presumption that pregnant prisoners should not travel in cellular vehicles. A similar presumption applies to the transport of mobility impaired prisoners.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to avoid moving prisoners between establishments as a result of overcrowding, with particular reference to those who are participating in education programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 13 June 2006
	Prisoners are usually transferred when their security category has been changed, to enable them to meet the requirements of their sentence plan, for compassionate reasons, as part of their preparation for release and for operational security reasons. High population levels can also lead to prisoners being transferred to establishments with a greater number of vacancies.
	Existing guidance requires prison governors to consider family contact issues and the education and training needs of individual prisoners before moving them, and to move them to prisons which can most suitably meet their work and training requirements.
	The Learning Skills Council (LSC) are developing new learning and skills delivery arrangements. These include plans to ensure educational records are available electronically when prisoners transfer between establishments.

Young Offenders

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what alternatives to prison for convicted non-violent young offenders are available to the courts.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The range of non-custodial sentences available to the courts includes Referral Orders and Action Plan Orders for less serious and first time offenders through to the Community Rehabilitation Order and the Supervision Order which are more robust and to which can be attached the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP).

Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House
	(1)  which Government Bills sponsored by his Department remain to be introduced during the 2005-06 Session;
	(2)  which Government Bills sponsored by his Department he has bid for in the next Session of Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The Queen's Speech of 17 May 2005 and subsequent announcements have set out the Government's legislative priorities for this session. Any further announcement relating to the legislative programme for the current session would be made at the appropriate time.
	As Chair of the Cabinet Committee on the Legislative Programme, I am responsible for discussing with colleagues the Government's legislative priorities for the next session. The outcome of those discussions will be set out in the Queen's Speech later this year.

Braille/Audio/Large Print Publications

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to increase the number of  (a) Braille,  (b) audio and  (c) large print books, newspapers and magazines available in the UK.

Shaun Woodward: We have been facilitating discussions between publishers, authors, the Royal National Institute of the Blind, and the National Library for the Blind on a project to investigate the possibility of transforming published material into formats accessible to the visually impaired.
	Currently, a feasibility study is under way and results will be reported back to a Steering Group, chaired by DTI officials, shortly.

Commonwealth Institute Building

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what organisations she has consulted regarding the future of the Commonwealth Institute building.

David Lammy: The future of the Commonwealth Institute building has been the subject of discussions with a number of Government Departments and the Commonwealth Institute. On 6 June I met the Chairman and Chief Executive of English Heritage and my officials have met representatives of the Twentieth Century Society. Additionally representations have been received from a number of other organisations.

Departmental Advisers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1408W, on departmental advisers, what the reason was for the increase in money spent on travel and subsistence for special advisers between  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

David Lammy: The increase in travel and subsistence expenditure over the last year is because the Department gained an additional Special Adviser making three in total in connection with the Secretary of State's additional responsibilities for Women, humanitarian assistance and the Olympics.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of12 June 2006,  Official Report, column 935W, on the 2012 Olympics, when she expects to announce the constituencies to be visited as part of the 2012 Olympics Roadshow.

Richard Caborn: As soon as details of the roadshow itinerary are finalised, a list of the locations to be visited will be made available on the Department's website (www.culture.gov.uk). We expect this to be within the next week.

Taking Part Survey

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of11 June 2006,  Official Report, column 483-84W, on activity levels, when the new national Taking Part survey first expects to report; and what criteria it will use to make an assessment of participation levels.

David Lammy: First results from the Taking Part survey were published on the Department's website on 15 December 2005.
	To date, three reports have been released on the survey results. These can be accessed at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/global/research/taking_part_survey/survey_ouputs.htm.
	Two of the reports released so far have provided provisional baselines on the Department's public service agreement target 3 (PSA3). The third report looked more generally at participation and attendance across activities within the Department's remit.
	For the two PSA3 reports participation levels are assessed against the definitions of the PSA3 target agreed with HM Treasury. These differ by type of activity and frequency for each sector. Full details are given in the technical note which is available at http://www.culture.gov.uk/about_dcms/publicserviceagreements.htm. In the third more general report the same criteria have been used except for arts and sports sectors. Full details of this difference are included in the report which was published on24 March 2006—provisional results from the first six months of the 2005-06 survey.

Asylum-seeking Children

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department takes to ensure that  (a) the Hillingdon Judgment and (b) Local Authority Circular (2003) 13 are applied by local authorities responsible for unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department collects annual statistics through the National Data Collection exercise on the number of children, including unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC), who become looked after and the age at which they cease to be looked after. These figures show how local authorities are supporting looked after children who are UASC.
	Adherence to the framework set by statute, regulations and guidance, including that relating to Local Authority Circular (2003)13, together with making appropriate responses to judicial review and other case law judgments, are matters that are the responsibility of local authorities.

Asylum-seeking Children

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding is available from central Government to support local authorities in the discharge of their obligations towards asylum seeking children.

Parmjit Dhanda: Since 2004-05, my Department established the UASC Leaving Care Grant to assist those authorities facing increased financial pressure arising from the impact of the Hillingdon Judgment. Local authorities which support substantial numbers of such young people are eligible to receive funding through the grant, to assist towards meeting the costs of supporting additional numbers of 'former relevant children' under Section 23C of the Children Act 1989.
	In addition, the Home Office has, for a number of years, provided specific grant support to local authorities which support unaccompanied asylum seeking children aged under 18.

Primary Schools

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many primary schools there are in England with fewer than 100 pupils;
	(2)  how many primary schools there are with fewer than 100 pupils in each local education authority area.

Jim Knight: holding answer 15 June 2006
	The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary schools( 1, 2 ) : number of schools with less than 100 pupils( 3 ) as at January 2006( 4) 
			   Local authority area  
			  England 2,540 
			 201 City of London 0 
			 202 Camden 1 
			 203 Greenwich 0 
			 204 Hackney 0 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 
			 206 Islington 0 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 0 
			 208 Lambeth 0 
			 209 Lewisham 0 
			 210 Southwark 0 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 0 
			 212 Wandsworth 0 
			 213 Westminster 0 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 0 
			 302 Barnet 1 
			 303 Bexley 0 
			 304 Brent 1 
			 305 Bromley 6 
			 306 Croydon 0 
			 307 Ealing 0 
			 308 Enfield 1 
			 309 Haringey 0 
			 310 Harrow 0 
			 311 Havering 0 
			 312 Hillingdon 0 
			 313 Hounslow 0 
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 0 
			 315 Merton 0 
			 316 Newham 0 
			 317 Redbridge 0 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 0 
			 319 Sutton 0 
			 320 Waltham Forest 0 
			 330 Birmingham 2 
			 331 Coventry 0 
			 332 Dudley 0 
			 333 Sandwell 0 
			 334 Solihull 0 
			 335 Walsall 1 
			 336 Wolverhampton 1 
			 340 Knowsley 3 
			 341 Liverpool 3 
			 342 St. Helens 1 
			 343 Sefton 1 
			 344 Wirral 3 
			 350 Bolton 2 
			 351 Bury 3 
			 352 Manchester 1 
			 353 Oldham 2 
			 354 Rochdale 1 
			 355 Salford 1 
			 356 Stockport 0 
			 357 Tameside 2 
			 358 Trafford 0 
			 359 Wigan 2 
			 370 Barnsley 4 
			 371 Doncaster 2 
			 372 Rotherham 1 
			 373 Sheffield 2 
			 380 Bradford 4 
			 381 Calderdale 8 
			 382 Kirklees 18 
			 383 Leeds 5 
			 384 Wakefield 6 
			 390 Gateshead 5 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 2 
			 392 North Tyneside 0 
			 393 South Tyneside 2 
			 394 Sunderland 0 
			 420 Isles of Scilly 0 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 10 
			 801 Bristol, City of 6 
			 802 North Somerset 9 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 10 
			 805 Hartlepool 1 
			 806 Middlesbrough 0 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 1 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 2 
			 810 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 3 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 37 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 1 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 13 
			 815 North Yorkshire 164 
			 816 York 3 
			 820 Bedfordshire 46 
			 821 Luton 1 
			 825 Buckinghamshire 42 
			 826 Milton Keynes 15 
			 830 Derbyshire 109 
			 831 Derby 1 
			 835 Dorset 31 
			 836 Poole 0 
			 837 Bournemouth 0 
			 840 Durham 59 
			 841 Darlington 1 
			 845 East Sussex 26 
			 846 Brighton and Hove 0 
			 850 Hampshire 42 
			 851 Portsmouth 2 
			 852 Southampton 4 
			 855 Leicestershire 57 
			 856 Leicester 0 
			 857 Rutland 4 
			 860 Staffordshire 64 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent 1 
			 865 Wiltshire 58 
			 866 Swindon 1 
			 867 Bracknell Forest 0 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 5 
			 869 West Berkshire 15 
			 870 Reading 1 
			 871 Slough 0 
			 872 Wokingham 2 
			 873 Cambridgeshire 23 
			 874 Peterborough 0 
			 875 Cheshire 43 
			 876 Halton 3 
			 877 Warrington 2 
			 878 Devon 125 
			 879 Plymouth 1 
			 880 Torbay 1 
			 881 Essex 51 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea 0 
			 883 Thurrock 1 
			 884 Herefordshire 40 
			 885 Worcestershire 52 
			 886 Kent 55 
			 887 Medway 2 
			 888 Lancashire 96 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen 2 
			 890 Blackpool 0 
			 891 Nottinghamshire 44 
			 892 Nottingham 3 
			 893 Shropshire 55 
			 894 Telford and Wrekin 2 
			 908 Cornwall 93 
			 909 Cumbria 120 
			 916 Gloucestershire 66 
			 919 Hertfordshire 34 
			 921 Isle of Wight 14 
			 925 Lincolnshire 91 
			 926 Norfolk 137 
			 928 Northamptonshire 52 
			 929 Northumberland 67 
			 931 Oxfordshire 61 
			 933 Somerset 76 
			 935 Suffolk 85 
			 936 Surrey 44 
			 937 Warwickshire 17 
			 938 West Sussex 37 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed.(2) Provisional data—returns from six primary schools are known to be outstanding. No estimate has been made for missing data.(3) Based on the full-time equivalent number of pupils. Part time pupils are counted as 0.5.(4) Provisional Source: Schools' Census

Science Courses (Higher and Further Education)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many science courses have been available in  (a) higher and  (b) further education establishments in each year since 1997 in (i) England, (ii) each English region and (iii) the Tees Valley.

Bill Rammell: Information on the numbers of courses offered by institutions is not held centrally. The following tables show the number of students enrolled on science courses since 1997.
	
		
			  Undergraduate students( 1 ) enrolled on science courses( 2)  Government Office Region( 3 ) 1997-98 to 2004-05 
			  Region of institution  1997-98  1998-99 
			 North 27,970 29,850 
			 North West 62,540 66,125 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 51,645 54,420 
			 East Midlands 36,450 37,350 
			 West Midlands 44,090 45,300 
			 East Anglia 9,165 9,765 
			 South East 79,960 79,645 
			 South West 36,235 38,170 
			 Greater London 81,760 83,735 
			 Total English Regions 429,815 444,360 
			 The Tees Valley 6,005 5,740 
		
	
	
		
			  Region of institution  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 North East 30,435 31,600 31,090 34,740 36,130 36,285 
			 North West 68,570 70,760 71,000 77,570 82,135 81,925 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 55,725 56,095 56,105 64,210 62,235 62,320 
			 East Midlands 36,190 37,345 38,410 42,850 46,895 46,470 
			 West Midlands 46,315 47,995 49,500 54,595 57,415 57,350 
			 Eastern 33,890 33,065 34,680 39,900 39,095 42,080 
			 South East 52,620 53,370 54,200 59,815 103,220 110,420 
			 South West 38,770 39,785 41,330 45,010 47,355 47,550 
			 Greater London 89,715 93,975 98,040 105,845 106,410 109,870 
			 Total English Regions 452,230 463,990 474,360 524,540 580,885 594,270 
			 The Tees Valley 7,310 9,020 8,450 10,360 11,070 10,655 
			 (1) Based on a snapshot count of students, as at 1 December each year.  (2) A new method of allocating students to subject groups was introduced in 2002-03, the main effect of which was to increase the number of students allocated to specific named subjects and decrease the number of students allocated to "Combined Subject" courses. This will have contributed to the rise in science enrolments between 2001-02 and 2002-03. Science includes medicine/dentistry, subjects allied to medicine, biological sciences, veterinary sciences, veterinary science, agriculture, physical sciences, mathematical sciences, computer science, engineering/technology and architecture.  (3) The classification of Government Office regions was revised in 2000-01. Merseyside has been included with the north west.   Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5. 
		
	
	
		
			  Learning Aim Enrolments in FE in Science and Mathematics Area of Learning for 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			  Enrolments by Region  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 National Office 25,394 716 674 
			 East England 50,529 41,182 38,906 
			 East Midlands 39,945 30,263 29,877 
			 Greater London 86,676 72,696 64,060 
			 North-East 35,756 30,567 27,992 
			 North-West 85,789 75,601 68,740 
			 South-East 81,984 71,333 69,410 
			 South-West 42,660 38,143 40,495 
			 West Midlands 70,339 58,726 54,783 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 52,353 50,926 45,789 
			 National Total 571,425 47U.153 440,726 
			 National Total—All FE Enrolments —All Subjects 8,249,256 7,872,271 7,845,818 
		
	
	
		
			  Enrolments at Tees Valley Local LSC 
			 2002-03 Tees Valley 14,669 
			 2003-04 Tees Valley 12,515 
			 2004-05 Tees Valley 12,475 
			  Note:  FE learning aim enrolments on aims classified as being in the 'Science and Mathematics' area of learning are given. Area of Learning is used rather than sector subject area as there is more historical data using this classification. Local office classification is based on the relation between providers and their lead LLSC. Data is not supplied for prior to 2002-03 as the definitions of programme areas and how to count learners changed at that point.   Source:  Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Individualised Learner Record 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05

Correspondence

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will reply to the letter of 16 March from the hon. Member for Aylesbury to the former Minister of State for Environment and Agri-Environment about climate change on behalf of Mr. T. R. of Princes Risborough.

Ian Pearson: I apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member's letter. A response will be issued shortly.

Departmental Blog

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the start-up cost was for his departmental blog; how much he expects the blog to cost each year; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The initial start-up costs for the Secretary of State's blog were met by the then office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Costs of transferring the blog to DEFRA (including design, text and administration changes) have amounted to approximately £1,250. ongoing costs for hosting and support would amount to some £900 a year on the current basis. There will be further ongoing administrative costs, consisting of a percentage of an existing member of staff's time.

Electrical Goods

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government is taking to promote and support the use of dynamic power management devices in fridges, freezers and other electrical household white goods.

Ian Pearson: The Government are aware that a number of dynamic demand control devices have been or are being developed by manufacturers as a potential means for reducing the peak load demand on the power grid.
	We are currently investigating, via a small scale test carried out by the Market Transformation Programme (MTP), what effect these devices have on the operation of cold appliances.
	For further information on the MTP, please go to: http://www.mtprog.com/

Fruit and Vegetable Scheme

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the  (a) five a day and  (b) school fruit and vegetable scheme.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	The annual Food Standards Agency's consumer attitudes survey is used to track 5 A DAY awareness and consumption. The survey shows knowledge of the 5 A DAY message has increased from 43 per cent. in 2000 to 67 per cent. in 2005, while those claiming to have eaten at least five portions of fruit and vegetables the previous day has risen from 26 per cent. in 2000 to 30 per cent. in 2005.
	The national foundation for educational research (NFER), in partnership with Leeds University, was commissioned by the Big Lottery Fund to carry out an evaluation of the school fruit and vegetable scheme. Results published in September 2005 demonstrated that children ate significantly more fruit while participating in the scheme. The results showed that increased consumption of fruit was not sustained when children's participation in the scheme came to an end. However, there was some evidence of increased knowledge of healthy eating, particularly in children from deprived areas.
	We will be working to integrate the scheme more closely with other healthy eating initiatives in schools, to provide opportunities to maintain the behaviour change achieved by participation in the scheme.

Fungaflor

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when a replacement for Fungaflor will be licensed for use in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 June 2006,  Official Report, column 892W.

Hydro-electricity

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what evaluation his Department has carried out of the potential energy generation from the River Severn from  (a) incorporating hydro-electric generating equipment at the five existing weirs between Stourport and Gloucester and  (b) building five variable height weirs with hydro-electric generating equipment between Bridgnorth and Stourport.

Malcolm Wicks: In 1987 the then Department of Energy commissioned the University of Salford to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the economic potential for small-scale hydro-electric generation throughout the UK.
	The scope of the study extended to sites with installed capacities in the range 25 kW to 5 MW. Further limiting conditions were to disregard sites with hydraulic heads of less than two metres, with existing civil works, or less than three metres with no existing civil works.
	The comprehensive results of the study were published in the report "Small Scale Hydroelectricity Generation Potential in the UK" ETSU-SSH-4063 (parts 1-3) a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House.

Hydroschemes

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria the Environment Agency uses to assess the environmental consequences of hydroschemes; what conclusion they came to on the Littlecombe site, Dursley; and on what basis.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency assesses each scheme on its own merits and has produced a guidance document entitled 'Hydropower—A Handbook for Agency Staff', which is available to the public on request. It contains guidance for developers on the type of information they should consider as part of their responsibility to take account of the potential environmental impacts of hydroschemes.
	The Environment Agency has not reached a conclusion about hydropower at the Littlecombe site, Dursley. Although it has discussed hydropower and what the developers would need to consider, the Agency has not yet received specific details or a consultation.

Water Services

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers water companies have to take action against those people who are observed to be wasting water; and whether there are proposals for further suchpowers.

Ian Pearson: Water companies have powers under section 75 of the Water Industry Act 1991 and within the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 to take action if they consider water supplied by the company is being wasted or is likely to be wasted. There are no current proposals for further such powers.

Water Services

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) maximum usable water volume and  (b) actual usable volume for water in each water supply company region was in each financial year since 1997.

Ian Pearson: The Water Services Regulation Authority (publicly known as Ofwat) publish data annually on the amount of water supplied by water companies.
	Maximum usable water volumes are best indicated by the distribution input (total volume of drinking water put into the supply system per day). Actual usable water volumes are best indicated by the water delivered (total volume of drinking water delivered per day). Figures for each water supply company region in each financial year since 1997-98, in megalitres per day, was reported as follows:
	
		
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  Anglian 
			 Water delivered 1027 1002 1000 987 986 1000 1001 990 
			 Distribution input 1200 1146 1140 1134 1159 1150 1174 1163 
			  
			  Dwr Cymru 
			 Water delivered 715 695 681 682 674 676 670 667 
			 Distribution input 987 949 930 899 894 883 876 869 
			  
			  United Utilities 
			 Water delivered 1610 1560 1548 1554 1559 1573 1599 1551 
			 Distribution input 2083 1977 1947 1935 1933 1952 1984 1953 
			  
			  Northumbrian North 
			 Water delivered 657 654 634 634 631 618 609 599 
			 Distribution input 789 111 758 750 754 736 732 719 
			  
			  Northumbrian South 
			 Water delivered 437 431 432 421 431 427 439 425 
			 Distribution input 492 480 478 466 476 465 481 464 
			  
			  Severn Trent 
			 Water delivered 1632 1632 1645 1634 1637 1612 1655 1626 
			 Distribution input 1918 1869 1878 1868 1870 1929 1967 1925 
			  
			  South West 
			 Water delivered 374 366 364 356 372 375 390 394 
			 Distribution input 445 434 431 429 445 447 459 456 
			  
			  Southern 
			 Water delivered 531 520 518 514 528 524 527 513 
			 Distribution input 603 588 585 578 598 595 599 586 
			  
			  Thames 
			 Water delivered 1982 1892 2049 2089 2107 2141 2179 2140 
			 Distribution input 2665 2481 2553 2600 2765 2842 2874 2809 
			  
			  Wessex 
			 Water delivered 310 304 304 302 308 306 318 313 
			 Distribution input 402 387 376 373 374 368 379 372 
			  
			  Yorkshire 
			 Water delivered 1042 1013 1031 1032 1070 1059 1061 1055 
			 Distribution input 1338 1285 1283 1274 1307 1299 1297 1287 
			  
			  Bournemouth and W. Hampshire 
			 Water delivered 139 134 141 138 138 141 148 147 
			 Distribution input 158 154 158 154 154 158 165 164 
			  
			  Bristol 
			 Water delivered 263 255 250 248 252 246 247 241 
			 Distribution input 308 301 292 289 297 292 293 287 
			  Cambridge 
			 Water delivered 63 61 61 61 62 63 65 65 
			 Distribution input 73 71 70 71 72 73 75 75 
			  
			  Dee Valley 
			 Water delivered 63 63 63 62 62 63 63 61 
			 Distribution input 71 71 71 70 69 70 69 68 
			  
			  Folkestone and Dover 
			 Water delivered 46 43 43 43 45 44 44 40 
			 Distribution input 52 49 49 49 51 50 50 46 
			  
			  Mid Kent 
			 Water delivered 140 139 142 138 139 138 145 143 
			 Distribution input 164 159 161 156 158 157 166 163 
			  
			  Portsmouth 
			 Water delivered 153 151 158 154 158 156 165 159 
			 Distribution input 177 174 181 176 179 177 186 180 
			  
			  South East 
			 Water delivered 310 306 316 315 320 322 343 339 
			 Distribution input 394 382 387 378 375 376 394 391 
			  
			  South Staffs 
			 Water delivered 285 276 275 278 283 281 287 279 
			 Distribution input 344 331 330 329 334 331 338 332 
			  
			  Sutton and East Surrey 
			 Water delivered 141 137 139 138 145 145 154 146 
			 Distribution input 157 152 154 153 160 160 169 161 
			  
			  Tendring Hundred 
			 Water delivered 27 25 25 25 25 26 26 26 
			 Distribution input 32 30 30 30 30 30 31 30 
			  
			  Three Valleys 
			 Water delivered 714 705 721 738 768 765 801 780 
			 Distribution input 832 811 816 829 871 864 899 877

Wild Boar

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is regarding the hunting of wild boar; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: There are no specific legal restrictions on shooting wild boar,. However, the person doing the shooting must be authorised to do so on the land concerned, have an appropriate firearms certificate, and comply with other relevant firearms provisions.
	Wild boar are feral animals, with general protection under the Protection of Animals Act 1911. This protects captive animals (including animals in traps) against unnecessary suffering, and the The Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 offers further protection against specific cruel acts, such as "impaling", "stabbing" or "beating".
	A public consultation on future strategies for managing wild boar in England concluded on 6 January 2006. The consultation documents are available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/wild-boar /index.htm
	Responses to the consultation will help to formulate a long term management policy to be announced later this year.

Ascension Island

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many sites on Ascension Island "no longer necessary for the purpose of the operation of the Long Range Proving Ground" as set out in Article IV (Provision of Sites), point 1, of the Bahamas Agreement 1956 the UK Government has ceased to provide for that purpose since 1976.

Geoff Hoon: Two. The United States use of the "National Aeronautics Space Administration site" ceased in the early 1990's. Part of that site was then re-released and renamed in 1997. It was finally relinquished in March 2001.

Coalition Information Centre

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many individuals are employed in the Coalition Information Centre; and what the budget was for this unit in each year since 2001.

Kim Howells: The Coalition Information Centre (CIC) was formed in October 2001 and later changed its title to the Government Communication and Operations Centre. The unit had 9-10 staff for most of its existence, rising briefly to some 28 during the Iraq conflict, before being wound up in May 2003. The majority of costs were staff salaries, paid by staff members home departments. Other costs covered accommodation and infrastructure and these were absorbed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Total budgets could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo on  (a) support for victims of rape, (b) prosecution of rapists and  (c) prevention of further rapes.

Ian McCartney: The UK frequently raises with the Congolese Government our concerns about wide scale sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In February, we and international partners formally presented President Kabila with a dossier cataloguing major abuses carried out by Congolese armed forces, including rape and sexual violence. We demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice. A UK-drafted Resolution on DRC adopted at last year's United Nations General Assembly made clear that the Congolese Government must act decisively to reduce sexual violence.
	We are supporting humanitarian agencies in providing medical assistance to victims of sexual violence, particularly in Eastern DRC. This includes funding the construction of a new wing at a hospital in South Kivu that treats rape victims. We also support the International Committee of the Red Cross's Gender Based Violence pilot programme. Through our local peace-building programme, we aim to tackle the underlying causes of sexual violence.

India

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the attack on two Christian women in Nadia Village, Madhya Pradesh, India by Hindu extremists.

Kim Howells: We are aware of media reports of this attack. We understand from our high commission in New Delhi that the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Dr. Balram Jhakar, met the victims and has asked the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to send him details of the incidents and a report on action-taken. The case has also been registered with the police. Our high commission in New Delhi will continue to monitor the situation.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence there is of continuing direct help from the Government of Sudan to the Janjaweed.

Ian McCartney: We believe that the Government of Sudan continues to have close contacts with the leaders of the so-called 'Janjaweed' and to tolerate their activities. The UN Secretary General's report on Darfur on 19 May this year made several references to armed tribesmen supporting the Sudan armed forces in attacks against civilians in Darfur.
	Under the Darfur Peace Agreement the Government of Sudan must draw up a plan to disarm the "Janjaweed" and to implement it within six months. We call on them to do so.

Sudan

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to help prevent the spread of Janjaweed attacks from Darfur into Chad.

Ian McCartney: We are aware that Chadian rebels and Darfur militia continue to mount cross-border attacks into Eastern Chad from Darfur, which has led to the displacement of 50,000 Chadians. We are also aware of reports of Darfur rebels continuing to be supported by Chad. We are pressing the Government of Sudan to neutralise and disarm the Janjaweed and expel foreign fighters from Darfur as soon as possible, as required under the Darfur Peace Agreement. We are also pressing both governments to fulfil their obligations under the Tripoli Agreement.

Uganda

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of the Movement Act in Uganda on  (a) the February 2006 multi-party elections and  (b) its implication for the Ugandan multi-party political system; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 345W, and to the reply given by my hon. Friend the then Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Ian Pearson) to the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz), on 6 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1179W.

Uganda

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response she has received from the Uganda authorities to the written statement of 29 May 2005 regarding  (a) establishment of the rules for multi-party competition and  (b) separation of the organs of state from the Movement in (i) law and (ii) practice; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: On 29 April 2005 our high commission in Kampala issued a press release which reaffirmed the elements we considered necessary to achieving a legitimate process of political and constitutional change in Uganda. These included, establishment of the rules for multiparty competition and separation of the organs of state from the Movement in law and practice.
	In that statement we made clear that we were concerned by several aspects of the transition, including that insufficient progress had been made towards establishing a fair basis for a multiparty system. We therefore decided then to withhold £5 million of budget support (out of a total of £40 million for the financial year).
	We have not received, nor would we expect to, a formal response to our press release. We have of course maintained a high-level dialogue with the Government of Uganda on all aspects of the transition to a multi-party system in the run up to the multi-party elections in February 2006. I will arrange for a copy of the statement to be placed in the Library of the House.

Fire Services College

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Fire Services College provides  (a) training courses and  (b) access to the college's library and online information and development resources to fire services in (i) the Crown Dependencies, (ii) Overseas Territories, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) Commonwealth countries; and how much is charged by the college for those services to fire services in each category.

Angela Smith: The primary customer of the Fire Service College is the United Kingdom fire and rescue service. It has provided training to representatives from the categories of countries listed as follows:
	Crown dependencies and overseas territories, the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth countries.
	Charges for training are a commercial matter for the Fire Service College. It will depend on the number of people to be trained, the requirements of the course and the duration of training.
	On-site access to the Library and Information Resource Centre (LIRC) is available to all staff and students (including all overseas students on study courses) of the Fire Service College. The Library and Information Resource Centre has Membership options for UK and Republic of Ireland Fire and Rescue Services, corporate and individual customers, and organisational membership can cost between £260 and £600 per year, depending on the size of the organisation and the services provided. It does not currently offer memberships to other overseas customers.

Housing Development

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to prevent excessive land banking by housing developers.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	The Barker Review of Housing Supply considered the issue of land banking in assessing competition in house building, and did not find evidence of excessive land banking by house builders.
	The Review did make recommendations designed to make the planning system, and it's arrangements for releasing land for housing, more responsive to demand, in the interests of improving housing affordability. Draft Planning Policy Statement 3 published earlier this year is designed to achieve these objectives.
	The Office of Fair Trade periodically reviews the house building sector. If there is evidence of anti-competitive behaviour which was against the consumer, including excessive land banking by house builders, OFT may consider the case for a reference to the Competition Commission.
	The Department is concerned to ensure that there is proper competition in the house building sector and that land banking or holding of options do not operate as a barrier to entry. We are continuing to keep this under review to ensure that greater land supply results in increased house building.

Local Strategic Partnerships

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to increase the powers available to local strategic partnerships.

Yvette Cooper: LSPs, outside those areas receiving neighbourhood renewal funding, are currently entirely voluntary and therefore do not have any powers of their own.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (now Department for Communities and Local Government) undertook a consultation "Local Strategic Partnerships: Shaping their Future" from December 2005 to March 2006 which looked at the future of all LSPs, focusing on their role, accountability and capacity. As part of this consultation we proposed formalising the role of LSPs and ensuring the involvement of key agencies through establishing duties to co-operate with the local authority on named local delivery agencies. The results of the consultation are now being evaluated and decisions are to whether this legislative option will be pursued will need to be taken in due course.

Local Strategic Partnerships

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local strategic partnerships are chaired by  (a) an hon. Member,  (b) a councillor,  (c) a directly-elected mayor and  (d) a representative from the (i) public sector,(ii) voluntary sector and (iii) business sector.

Phil Woolas: Outside areas receiving neighbourhood renewal funding LSPs are voluntary partnerships and hence are not monitored on an individual basis by the Department. However, we do evaluate all LSPs on a national basis and therefore are able to give indicative answers to these questions. The last evaluation of LSPs was conducted in 2004 (National Evaluation of Local Strategic Partnerships: Report on the 2004 Survey of all English LSPs ODPM 2005). This indicated the following split in LSP chairs:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 Elected members 46 
			 Local authority officers 7 
			 Other public sector agency officers 16 
			 Private sector representative 11 
			 Voluntary and community representative 11 
		
	
	The question as to whether MPs or directly-elected mayors chaired LSPs was not specifically asked.

Public Sector (Funding)

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list the 10 non-public sector entities that have received the largest total sum of payments from her Department and its predecessor in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The Department of Communities and Local Government was formed in May 2006. (Formerly this Department was the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister which was formed in May 2002).
	The following lists in alphabetical order the 10 non-public sector entities that have received the largest payments from the Department in financial years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06.
	 2003-04
	Ashdown House Ltd.
	Balfour Kilpatrick Ltd.
	BNFL plc Instruments
	Building Research Establishment
	Carat Ltd.
	Land Securities Properties Ltd.
	Marshall Specialist Vehicles Ltd.
	Professional Protection Systems.
	Regus (UK) Ltd.
	Respirex International
	 2004-05
	Ashdown House Ltd.
	Building Research Establishment
	Carat Ltd.
	Land Securities Properties Ltd.
	Marshall Specialist Vehicles Ltd.
	Mitie Managed Services Southern
	National telecommunications Ltd.
	PA Consulting Group
	Regus (UK) Ltd.
	Scout Solutions Projects Ltd.
	 2005-06
	Ashdown House Ltd.
	Carat Ltd.
	Hytrans Systems
	John Dennis Coachbuilders
	Land Securities Properties Ltd.
	Marshall Specialist Vehicles Ltd.
	Mitie Managed Services Southern
	Mott Macdonald Ltd.
	PA Consulting Group
	Serco Government Consulting
	Information for 2002-03 was recorded jointly with the Department of Transport and expenditure figures cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.

Right to Buy

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department issues to local authorities on whether sections 185 and 187 of the Housing Act 2004 apply to right to buy purchases completed prior to January 2005.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer12 June 2006
	The Department issued a letter to local authorities on 18 January 2005 providing guidance on the changes to the Right to Buy under the Housing Act 2004, including the application of sections 185 and 187. No further guidance has been issued.

Gerson Report

Peter Viggers: To ask the Solicitor-General how many civil servants were employed in the Law Officers' Departments before the Gershon Report; what net reductions are proposed in the Gershon Report; how many reductions have been made; and how many civil servants are expected to be employed in the Law Officers' Departments in the Gershon target month of April 2008.

Mike O'Brien: It is unclear whether the hon. Member includes in his request the CPS. The information requested on the numbers of civil servants employed in the Law Officers' Departments is given in the following table which includes the CPS:
	
		
			  Department  Numbers employed before the Gershon Report  Net reduction proposed in the Gershon Report  Reductions already made  Number expected to be employed in April 2008 
			 Crown Prosecution Service 7,336 0 0 8,249 
			 Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office Established 18 May 2005(1) 
			 Serious Fraud Office 264 0 0 (2)— 
			 Treasury Solicitor's Office (including Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate) 816 36 10 780 
		
	
	The increase in CPS staff reflects agreed additional resources to improve performance by delivering the new statutory charging scheme, the No Witness, No Justice initiative, by recovering more criminal assets and extending the use of CPS advocates in the Crown and magistrates courts.
	RCPO replaced the former Customs and Excise Prosecutions Office which was required to reduce 10 posts. It achieved this through natural wastage in 2004-05(1)
	SFO staff numbers have risen to 330 employees to date in accordance with staffing plans agreed in Spending Review 2004. There was no headcount target for April 2008(2).
	TSol continues to recruit staff as business demand continues to grow but the introduction of efficiencies ensures that the growth in headcount is lower than the growth in business.

Staff Development

David Simpson: To ask the Solicitor-General what the total cost was of  (a) staff away-days and  (b) staff team building exercises in his Department in each of the last three years.

Mike O'Brien: The Law Officers' Departments are committed to developing their staff to their full potential and to the benefits that are achieved from holding away-days and team-building exercises. However, identifying details of such expenditure for the many offices of the Crown Prosecution Service would incur disproportionate cost. Figures for the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) in 2003-04 to 2005-06 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Department  Awaydays  Team-building  Awaydays  Team-building  Awayday  Team-building 
			 RCPO(1) — — — — 5,310 995 
			 SFO 0 0 19,269 0 0 0 
			 TSol 12,478 0 52,763 0 11,535 0 
			 HMCPSI 20,785 0 16,632 0 15,470 0 
			 Attorney-General's Office 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (1) RCPO was established 18 April 2005.

Benefit Fraud

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local authority benefit fraud investigators have  (a) commenced and  (b) completed the Professionalism in Security, Accredited Counter Fraud Officer Scheme.

James Plaskitt: Up until the end of March 2006, 1,875 local authority benefit fraud investigators had commenced and completed the Professionalism in Security (PinS) training scheme. In addition a further 80 have started but have not yet completed their training.

Carer's Allowance

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 721-22W, on carer's allowance, what the cost to public funds would be if the listed number of recipients of carer's allowance were receiving the standard rate of the allowance, in addition to their basic state pension.

Anne McGuire: Figures derived from new DWP national statistics published on 27 April indicate that in Wales at 30 November 2005, there were some 940 carers aged 60 and over receiving carer's allowance at a non-standard rate. A breakdown of this figure by gender and Welsh parliamentary constituency is in the table. This information was not available for the reply I gave to my hon. friend on 27 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 721-22 because the data then available for the numbers of recipients of carer's allowance at 31 August 2005 were rounded to the nearest 100, and this did not permit figures for the recipients of a non-standard rate of the allowance in each constituency to be provided where they numbered less than 50. The new statistical data is rounded to the nearest 10 and, as shown in the table, this does permit figures for the recipients in each constituency to be provided where they number five or more. The estimated additional annual cost to public funds of paying the standard weekly rate of carer's allowance to the carers listed in the table, rather than the non-standard rate they are receiving, would be around £1.25 million at current benefit rates.
	
		
			  Carer's Allowance: numbers of recipients aged 60 or over paid at a non-standard rate by gender and in total in each Welsh parliamentary constituency at 30 November 2005 
			  Parliamentary Constituency  Number of recipients( 1) 
			   Total  Women  Men 
			 Aberavon 10 10 (2)— 
			 Alyn and Deeside 30 30 (2)— 
			 Blaenau Gwent 30 30 (2)— 
			 Brecon and Radnorshire 20 10 (2)— 
			 Bridgend 30 30 (2)— 
			 Caernarfon 20 20 (2)— 
			 Caerphilly 30 30 (2)— 
			 Cardiff Central 20 20 (2)— 
			 Cardiff North 10 10 (2)— 
			 Cardiff South and Penarth 30 30 (2)— 
			 Cardiff West 20 20 (2)— 
			 Carmarthen East and Dinefwr 20 20 (2)— 
			 Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire 20 20 (2)— 
			 Ceredigion 30 20 (2)— 
			 Clwyd South 20 20 (2)— 
			 Clwyd West 20 20 (2)— 
			 Conwy 20 20 (2)— 
			 Cynon Valley 30 30 (2)— 
			 Delyn 20 20 (2)— 
			 Gower 20 20 (2)— 
			 Islwyn 20 20 (2)— 
			 Llanelli 40 30 (2)— 
			 Meirionnydd Nant Conwy 10 10 (2)— 
			 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 20 20 (2)— 
			 Monmouth 20 20 (2)— 
			 Montgomeryshire 20 10 (2)— 
			 Neath 40 30 (2)— 
			 Newport East 20 20 (2)— 
			 Newport West 20 20 (2)— 
			 Ogmore 30 30 (2)— 
			 Pontypridd 30 30 (2)— 
			 Preseli Pembrokeshire 30 30 (2)— 
			 Rhondda 20 20 (2)— 
			 Swansea East 20 20 (2)— 
			 Swansea West 20 20 (2)— 
			 Torfaen 40 40 (2)— 
			 Vale of Clwyd 30 30 (2)— 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 20 20 (2)— 
			 Wrexham 20 20 (2)— 
			 Ynys Mon 20 10 (2)— 
			 Total(3) 910 860 40 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and show the number of people receiving an allowance at a non-standard rate and exclude those with entitlement where payment has been suspended.  (2) Nil or less than five  (3) Totals may not sum due to rounding.   Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Carer's Allowance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will change his policy on ceasing carer's allowance on receipt of the state retirement pension at age 60; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: We have no current plans to change the policy on overlapping benefits in respect of carer's allowance and retirement pension.
	It is a basic principle of the social security system that only one benefit at a time can be paid for the same purpose. Even though the circumstances which give rise to entitlement to carer's allowance and state pension are different, they are both designed to provide a degree of replacement for lost or foregone income. Carer's allowance was designed to provide a measure of replacement income where the duties of caring for a severely disabled person prevent the prospect of full-time work and the earnings it would yield. State pension was designed to provide a replacement income in retirement.
	Although an entitlement to both benefits will mean that carer's allowance is not payable, or not payable in full, an underlying entitlement to carer's allowance gives access to additional financial support through the carer premium in housing benefit and council tax benefit and since 2003 the additional amount for carers in state pension credit.

Child Support

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will instruct the chief executive of the Child Support Agency to re-investigate the reasons for the reduction in child support paid to Mrs. N Darling of Dunstable; and if he will ask the chief executive of the Child Support Agency to allocate experienced forensic accountants to the case.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 8 June 2006
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Hilary Reynolds:
	In reply to your Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently on leave, I am responding on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will instruct the Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency to reinvestigate the reasons for the reduction in child support paid to Mrs N Darling of 6 Coombe Drive Dunstable; and if he will ask the Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency to allocate experienced forensic accountants to the case.
	As details about individual cases are confidential I have written to you separately about this case.

Departmental Pension Liability

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the pension liability of his Department over the next 30 years.

Anne McGuire: On 2 March 2006,  Official report, columns 388-390 a technical note by HM Treasury was placed in the Library of the House following an oral statement in Parliament by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. This note is a full statement about these liabilities and provides detailed information about the size and nature of the liabilities and how they are calculated.
	Pension liabilities are not estimated for individual Departments, they are estimated for individual pension schemes, as shown in the breakdown of liabilities per pension scheme given in table 1 of the technical note.

Departmental Staff

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in his Department were  (a) civil servants,  (b) contractors and  (c) other staff in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The number of civil servants in the Department between 1998 and 2004 can be found at Table C on the Civil Service Statistics which shows permanent staff numbers (FTE basis) in each Department and agency.
	Civil Service Statistics 2004 are available in the Library and on the Cabinet Office Statistics website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_of_the_civil_service/statistics/civil_service_statistics/index.asp
	The data for 1997 can be obtained from Table C in Civil Service Statistics 2003.
	Civil Service staffing trends by Department are now published by the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis via its statistics website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_information/statistical_information/statistics/index.asp
	The most recent figures reflecting staffing as at31 December 2005 were published on 7 April 2006.
	For ease of reference the figures since 1 April 2002, the first available since the Department's formation in June 2001, are in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of staff 
			 1 April 2002 125,910 
			 1 April 2003 127,000 
			 1 April 2004 129,200 
			 31 March 2005 121,020 
			 31 December 2005 117,680 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are FTE rounded and include temporary staff.  2. Figures from 2002 to 2004 exclude staff on paid maternity leave. 3. Figures from 31 March 2005 are based on the Office for National Statistics definition. 
		
	
	No central data is held on the number of contractors or agency workers employed by the Department. The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what incentives his Department offers to encourage staff to share vehicles when travelling to work.

James Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions' staff are encouraged to set up car sharing schemes; details of the benefits of car sharing and how to start and run schemes are on the departmental intranet. Staff are encouraged to participate in schemes run by other organisations, for example local authorities.
	The Department also offers other incentives to encourage more sustainable forms of travel; these include salary advances for the purchase of season travel tickets and bicycles. Concessionary bus passes are available in some locations and the Department also provides showers and changing facilities at a number of sites.
	The Department promotes sustainable travel to work. Sustainable Transport Travel pages are available on the intranet. The travel pages promote awareness of travel options and include a copy of the Departmental Generic Travel Plan. Details of greener forms of transport are also included in the Departmental Induction Pack.

Disability Discrimination Legislation

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in making the Department compliant with the provisions of disability discrimination legislation.

Anne McGuire: The information is as follows:
	 Disability Equality Scheme
	One of the main ways DWP is already working towards ensuring compliance with existing and new Disability Discrimination legislation is through publication of its Disability Equality Schemes by 4 December 2006. Businesses and corporate centre directorates will be involving disabled people in developing action plans for tackling problem areas and identifying positive actions to address these. The process to develop our Schemes was formally launched on 12 April 2006 by the Permanent Secretary. We have begun the process of involving both staff and customers in developing our Schemes and are planning a training strategy to ensure our staff are aware of the new legislation.
	 Equality Impact Assessment
	We advise that all parts of DWP undertake to consider the potential impact of policy and services on all equality groups and we are implementing a new impact assessment tool across all diversity areas. We have already undertaken at least three impact assessments taking into account disability, with a number of additional assessments in the process of being completed.
	 Premises
	DWP commissioned public access audits of all its premises used by the public during 2003. The results were used to develop a programme of public access improvements that was implemented in the following year and completed in March 2005, with the exception of a small number of Jobcentre Plus refurbishment programme sites, scheduled for completion in June 2006.
	A total of 1,735 buildings were surveyed with access impotents works being undertaken at 1,032 sites at a cost of £4 million. The existing public access provisions are subject to annual review and any future additional requirement is built into the annual maintenance work programmes.
	 Disability Confident
	The Department has worked in partnership with the Employers' Forum on Disability (EFD) in order to address the needs of its disabled customers. In particular, it has contributed, along with other public and private organisations, to the highly acclaimed interactive "Disability Confident" training resource pack.
	 Reasonable Adjustment pilots
	DWP has been running two pilot exercises in the Disability and Carers' Service (DCS) on a revised process for delivering reasonable adjustments. The development of the new process was partly in response to the length of time it took to assess and put reasonable adjustments into place and partly to ensure that the recommended adjustment was the most suitable for that individual. The new process opens formal communication channels between suppliers and so far, the results have been positive. There has been a notable reduction in the time it is taking to achieve a successful outcome.
	A third pilot is due to start in Jobcentre Plus shortly. We are already planning national implantation.
	 Diversity toolkit
	We want our staff to understand and embrace diversity. An important part of achieving this has been our Diversity Toolkit.
	The Toolkit makes all our diversity and equality information in one place. It sits on our internal website, where staff can work through its training modules at their own pace.
	The Toolkit has been commended by the Institute of Welfare is now being used, not only by them but also by around 70 other organisations, including the Metropolitan Police.

Illegal Immigrants

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many illegal immigrants have been discovered to be employed by his Department in each year since 2001; in what capacities they were employed; how many were discovered as part of a criminal investigation; and what the nature of the charges brought against them were.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is not routinely obtained. In common with all Government Departments, DWP has in place standard pre-appointment checks which are carried out during the recruitment process and which are intended to ensure that the employment status of all applicants is confirmed prior to them being offered a post. These controls also have the effect of deterring prospective applicants who are not entitled to work in the UK. Decisions on the legality of an individual's status would be determined by the immigration authorities. Any information that comes to light during the recruitment process which raises a question about the immigration status of any individual applicant would be dealt with at the time. Where appropriate, authorities would be consulted on individual cases.

Incapacity Benefit

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1350W to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), on incapacity benefit, when he expects his Department to conclude its review of the incapacity benefits caseload forecasts; and whether he plans to publish the forecasts.

Anne McGuire: The latest forecast estimates of the number of incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance claimants, consistent with the best available data, are shown up to 2019-20 in the following table. These forecasts do not take into account any of the proposed policy changes in the recent papers, "A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work", or "Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system".
	
		
			  Estimated numbers of working-age claimants of incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance, 2005-06?2019-20 
			  Thousand 
			   Number 
			 2005-06 2,710 
			 2006-07 2,650 
			 2007-08 2,570 
			 2008-09 2,490 
			 2009-10 2,430 
			 2010-11 2,400 
			 2011-12 2,390 
			 2012-13 2,370 
			 2013-14 2,360 
			 2014-15 2,350 
			 2015-16 2,360 
			 2016-17 2,380 
			 2017-18 2,410 
			 2018-19 2,440 
			 2019-20 2,470 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000.  2. Figures are forecasts, therefore subject to future revisions.  3. Figures include the impact of the one-third rollout of Pathways to Work and estimates of the impact of equalisation of state pension age on the IB caseload.

Poverty

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the Government  (a) defines and  (b) measures severe poverty; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: Specific information regarding low income for Wales, Scotland and the English regions is available in the latest publication of "Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2004-05". The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.
	Our current approach in "Opportunity for all" is to present a range of low-income thresholds (50, 60 and 70 per cent.). This gives an idea of the depth of poverty and it is simple to interpret. Indeed, the incorporation of two different relative low-income thresholds into our new child poverty measure (60 and 70 per cent. of median), together with the absolute tier, further ensures that different depths of poverty will be looked at separately.
	We know that there are some anomalies at the very bottom end of the income distribution, due to people misreporting income, to self-employment, and to people on temporary zero income but with high living standards (e.g. students, people taking a career break). These become proportionally more important the smaller the group you focus on. That is part of the reason that, from next year, we will be collating material deprivation data as well, excluding people with low measured income but high living standards.

Sickness/Unauthorised Absence

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the level of  (a) sickness and  (b) unauthorised absence was in  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each year since 1996-97; what progress has been made in meeting targets for a reduction in sickness and unauthorised absence; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The information is as follows.
	 Days lost to sickness
	The information available is contained in the following tables. The figures represent average working days lost per staff year, and have been drawn from the Cabinet Office's annual reports on sickness absence in the civil service. The information for 2005 is not yet available.
	The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in 2001. The overall figures prior to this date relate to absence levels in the Department of Social Security and the Employment Service. A comprehensive breakdown of the DSS' agencies' figures prior to 2001 is not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Sickness absence information for the former DSS and ES 
			  Department  1998  1999  2000 
			 Employment Service — 11.5 11.8 
			 Department of Social Security 10.8 10.9 11.0 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Sickness absence information for DWP 
			  Business  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Appeals Service — — — — 
			 Child Support Agency 11.0 11.6 13.8 11.6 
			 Disability and Carers Service — — — — 
			 Employment Service 12.8 13.5 — — 
			 Jobcentre Plus (Benefits Agency pre-2002) 10.6 10.8 12.0 9.8 
			 The Pension Service — — 10.5 9.5 
			 DWP overall 11.1 10.8 11.6 9.6 
		
	
	Since the end of 2004, the Department's internal figures indicate a further reduction of over 12 per cent. This improvement has been achieved by, among other things, increasing staff awareness of the issue and management's commitment to reducing absence levels; greater compliance with revised procedures, which were commended by the National Audit Office; improved management information about the level and type of absences through the introduction of a new computer system.
	 Days lost to unauthorised absence
	The available information is in the following table. Information about unauthorised absences in DWP prior to 2003 is not fully available. The vast majority of these days lost are through industrial action. Days lost for reasons other than industrial action are negligible. If they occur, they are dealt with under the Department's disciplinary procedures.
	
		
			  Table 3: Average working days lost due to all unauthorised absences 
			  DWP business  2003  2004  2005 (end October) 
			 Appeals Service — — — 
			 Child Support Agency 0.01 2.21 0.03 
			 Disability and Carers Service 0.01 1.94 0.03 
			 Jobcentre Plus 0.02 2.08 0.03 
			 The Pension Service 0.01 2.14 0.03 
			 DWP overall 0.01 2.08 0.03 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Average working days lost due to unauthorised absence, excluding industrial action 
			  DWP business  2003  2004  2005 (end October) 
			 Appeals Service — — — 
			 Child Support Agency 0.01 0.04 0.03 
			 Disability and Carers Service 0.01 0.02 0.03 
			 Jobcentre Plus 0.01 0.04 0.03 
			 The Pension Service 0.01 0.07 0.03 
			 DWP overall 0.01 0.04 0.03

UN Draft Disability Treaty

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Government plans to bring forward changes to UK legislation to be compatible with the UN Draft Disability Treaty.

Anne McGuire: The Government actively support the Draft UN Disability Convention and are playing an active role in its negotiation. When the text is adopted by the UN General Assembly the Treaty will be open for signature and ratification by States. Depending on the final text of the Convention, it is possible that changes to national legislation may be required or that appropriate reservations are in place.

Vaccine Damage Payment Act

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims under the Vaccine Damage Payment Act 1979 were made in each year since 2000; and how many were successful.

Anne McGuire: The number of claims received and successful payments made under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979, in each financial year since April 2000 are as follows:
	
		
			  1 April to 31 March  Number of claims received  Number of claims successful 
			 2000-01 205 0 
			 2001-02 146 2 
			 2002-03 417 5 
			 2003-04 165 4 
			 2004-05 111 4 
			 2005-06 106 4 
			 2006-07 (to 7 June 2006) 14 2 
			 Total 1,164 21 
			  Source:  Vaccine Damage Payments Unit Database

Air Industry

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government has for maintaining the UK air industry sector.

Margaret Hodge: The Government are working in partnership with the aerospace industry to strengthen the UK capabilities in this sector and are implementing the agenda set by the industry-led Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team report in 2003. This set out a vision for the future success of the industry that by 2022,
	"The UK will offer a global Aerospace Industry the world's most innovative and productive location, leading to sustainable growth for all its stakeholders".
	The key areas of focus work are on technology, process excellence, skills, and environmental issues.
	This implementation work is overseen by the Aerospace Innovation and Growth Leadership Council, which I chair jointly with Mike Turner, CEO of BAE Systems.
	More information is set out in the DTI evidence to the Trade and Industry Committee inquiry in March 2005.
	In regard to the defence air sector, the recently published Defence Industrial Strategy provided clarity to industry on our military capability requirements, and set out a requirement to work with BAE Systems and key areas of the supply chain to ensure a sustainable long-term industrial base.

Arms Exports

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what checks are made by his Department to ensure that ex-military aircraft transferred to countries subject to a UN arms embargo are not used for military purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Ex-military aircraft are rated ML10b under the UK's "Military List". As such, they would only receive a licence for export to an embargoed destination, where permitted by an exception in the embargo eg where they were to be used by UN representatives or peace keeping forces or for humanitarian work. In such cases a risk assessment is made before a licence is granted to verify the stated end-use.

Business Closures (Peterborough)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many firms in  (a) Peterborough constituency and  (b) the Peterborough city council area have ceased trading in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Value added tax (VAT) registrations and de-registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business start-ups and closures. DTI data on the number of VAT registrations and de-registrations in  (a) Peterborough constituency and  (b) Peterborough city council area from 1997 to 2004 are shown in the following table. The table shows, the number of new VAT registrations the number of de-registrations and the ratio of de-registrations to registrations in each year are also shown.
	
		
			  VAT de-registrations and registrations 1997-2004 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			  Peterborough Constituency 
			 New registrations 285 250 260 250 250 280 290 245 
			 De-registrations 210 240 190 210 185 245 265 220 
			 ratio 0.74 0.96 0.73 0.84 0.74 0.88 0.91 0.90 
			  
			  Peterborough city council 
			 New registrations 480 440 435 405 430 485 525 440 
			 De-registrations 325 355 300 365 330 385 435 405 
			 ratio 0.68 0.81 0.69 0.90 0.77 0.79 0.83 0.92 
			  Source:  Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2004, Small Business Service, available at http://www.sbs.gov.uk/vats 
		
	
	In both Peterborough constituency and Peterborough city council area the stock of VAT registered businesses has increased each year since 1997, as registrations have exceeded de-registrations throughout this period.
	VAT registration and de-registration data do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if their turnover falls below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register will not necessarily have closed. Only 1.8 million out of 4.3 million businesses (42 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2004.

Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions his Department has agreed to make compensation payments as an employer through negotiation with a claims handler.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 8 June 2006
	The Department has Claims Handling Agreements (CHAs) with the Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM)/Vendside for processing vibration white finger and respiratory disease claims. The Department has a further agreement with the UDM for handling hearing loss claims.
	We have also received a few claims from other claims handlers which have been handled under the terms of the CHA for claims submitted by solicitors.

Departmental Press Office

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many  (a) black and Asian and  (b) other people are employed in his Department's press office.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department collects data, on a voluntary basis, on the ethnic origin of its staff. Such data, relating to small individual business units, are not available for publication for reasons of confidentiality.
	 Note:
	Civil Service Statistics contains information on the numbers of staff who have declared their ethnic background. The latest available information at April 2004 is available in the Library and on the civil service website and the following address.
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/index.asp

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people over the age of 55 years have been recruited into his Department in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: People over 55, direct entrants recruited into Department of Trade and Industry are:
	
		
			   Age  
			   56 - 58  59 - 61  62 - 64  Total 
			 2003 2 1 1 4 
			 2004 3 0 0 3 
			 2005 3 0 0 3 
			 2006 1 0 0 1

Energy Consumers

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to assist vulnerable domestic energy customers.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has taken a number of actions to help vulnerable domestic gas and electricity customers. We have liaised closely with energy suppliers on the development of the Home Heat Helpline, a one-stop service providing vulnerable customers and their representatives with the range of help and information available from suppliers and Government. We have worked with Energywatch and Ofgem to encourage customers to use the competitive market to get the best deal. We have successfully promoted the introduction of social tariffs and price freezes for fuel poor and low-income customers.
	DTI's Design and Demonstration Unit, a team of private sector secondees that works in support of Energy White Paper objectives, has designed and delivered projects to provide gas connections to deprived communities, and is now developing community projects utilising renewable technologies.
	DTI and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) share PSA targets in respect of fuel poverty. As part of the Energy Review, DTI is seeking to determine what further measures are needed to tackle fuel poverty.

Gas and Electricity

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment he has made of the impact of gas and electricity prices on public sector expenditure; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Preliminary figures from the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) indicate that public expenditure on gas and electricity was between£1.5 and £2 billion in 2003-04. This figure is indicative as it is based on information from a sample of public sector administrations. This information is not regularly updated.
	The latest DTI statistics, March 2006 (http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file26972.pdf) indicate that retail prices paid for small industrial consumers—a proxy for the public sector—for gas and electricity increased by 80 per cent. and 53 per cent. respectively, between January 2004 and January 2006.

Information Technology

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the  (a) originally estimated,  (b) most recently estimated and  (c) outturn cost was in each of the five largest information technology contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has a main Information Technology contract which is a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Agreement with Fujitsu Services and has been in place for more than five years. The Department has also recently awarded a Competed Services Framework Arrangement to six other suppliers and this will enable an element of competition for future IT projects. To-date no significant contracts have been awarded to these suppliers.
	For the Department's PFI Agreement with Fujitsu, covering desktop services and application development and support, spend in the last five years has been:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Amount 
			 2001-02 36 
			 2002-03 35 
			 2003-04 37 
			 2004-05 32 
			 2005-06 30

Post Offices

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have closed in  (a) Devon,  (b) Cornwall,  (c) Somerset and  (d) Dorset in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 12 June 2006
	The question the Hon member has asked relates to operational matters for which Post Office Ltd. is directly responsible. However, Post Office Ltd. have provided the following figures relating to the numbers of post office branches in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset.
	
		
			  Number of Post Office branches open 
			  Area  Devon  Cornwall  Somerset  Dorset 
			 2001-02 436 291 218 230 
			 2002-03 425 275 215 224 
			 2003-04 394 264 205 197 
			 2004-05 364 262 195 195 
			 2005-06 358 264 194 187 
		
	
	Information relating to post office branches for each parliamentary constituency is placed in the Libraries of the House on an annual basis.

Post Offices

Celia Barlow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have  (a) opened and  (b) closed in Hove constituency since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The question the hon. Member has asked relates to operational matters for which Post Office Ltd. is directly responsible. However, Post Office Ltd. have provided the following figures relating to the number of post office branches in Hove constituency.
	
		
			  Post Office® branches open in Hove 
			   Number 
			 2001-02 22 
			 2002-03 20 
			 2003-04 14 
			 2004-05 14 
			 2005-06 14 
			  Note: Data on post offices closed in Hove constituency since 1997 is not available prior 2000. 
		
	
	Information relating to post office branches for each parliamentary constituency is placed in the Libraries of the House on an annual basis.

Post Offices

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have been closed in villages and towns with a population smaller than 10,000 inhabitants in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The question the hon. Member has asked relates to operational matters for which Post Office Ltd. (POL) is directly responsible. However, POL have provided the following figures relating to the net reduction in rural Post Office® branches by year.
	
		
			   Net reduction in rural branches 
			 2000-01 441 
			 2001-02 194 
			 2002-03 115 
			 2003-04 149 
			 2004-05 144 
			 2005-06 149 
		
	
	Post Office® branches are classified as being in either urban or rural areas, with rural areas being defined as settlements with less than 10,000 inhabitants, this definition follows that of the Countyside Agency and was adopted at the end of 1999-2000 in preparation for the PIU report.
	Data on the net reduction in the number of branches in settlements with less than 10,000 inhabitants (rural branches) is not available prior 2000.

Renewable Energy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the UK's energy came from renewable energy sources in 2005-06; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the proportion of energy from renewable sources.

Malcolm Wicks: Full details of generation from renewable energy in 2005 will be published in the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics on 27 July 2006. A copy of which will be available from the Libraries of the House.
	It is currently estimated that 4.2 per cent. of the UK's electricity was generated from all sources of renewable energy in 2005.
	The Government's main mechanism for delivering new renewable generating capacity is the renewables obligation (RO). The RO requires electricity suppliers to source an increasing proportion of their electricity sales from eligible sources of renewable energy.
	As support to the RO, the Government are also investing around £500 million, between 2002 and 2008, in capital grants and research and development on renewable energy. Money that has already been allocated includes £50 million for the Marine Renewables Deployment Fund and £117 million for offshore wind. The Chancellor also announced in the Budget a further £50 million, on top of the £30 million that I had previously announced, for the Low Carbon Building Programme, which supports microgeneration and energy efficiency measures.

Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department takes on receipt of an HR1 form under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Officials check that the employer has complied with the statutory advance notification requirements of 90 days notice of 100 or more proposed redundancies in a 90-day period, or 30 days notice of between 20 and 99 proposed redundancies in a 90-day period. The information is then passed to the relevant local government offices and agencies so that they can take any appropriate measures to assist or retrain the employees in question. Jobcentreplus offers access to a range of support schemes designed to help those facing redundancy. It provides information on job searching; compiling CVs; further education and training for individuals who need to develop new skills; as well as benefits information. It liaises with the employer and other partners (The Regional Development Agency, the Local Learning and Skills Council (LLSC), the local authority, Chamber of Commerce), to assess the scale of any redundancy situation. If local partners agree it is 'large scale' Jobcentreplus calls on its Rapid Response Unit?a flexible service, tailored to the needs of the particular area, sector and company. The help required is agreed in discussion with the employer, and in liaison with the local government office and the LLSCs.

Venture Capital

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to increase access to venture capital for manufacturing firms in the North East.

Margaret Hodge: Manufacturing is still, and will continue to be, a very important part of the UK economy. The importance of manufacturing to the North East of England, and to the whole UK economy, is recognised in the Department of Trade and Industry's Manufacturing Strategy. Launched in 2002 and reviewed in 2004, the strategy sets out the actions needed to create a high value, high skill manufacturing sector capable of introducing new products and processes into our economy, creating new markets, and delivering a huge boost to our growth and prosperity.
	Government will continue to work with regional agencies, the business community, trade unions and others to ensure that the region (and the UK) makes the most of the opportunities to shift from low-cost/low added-value manufacturing to a sustainable, high added value, high skill, knowledge-led economy. We will continue to develop policies to achieve the right climate for business growth.
	The UK is widely acknowledged as possessing a dynamic and efficient financial market, meeting the financing needs of the majority of businesses. Nevertheless, a small but important minority of innovative, growth-oriented small businesses continue to face difficulties in attracting the funding (particularly risk capital and equity in the £500,000 to £2 million region) that they need to realise their ambitions, providing a case for targeted Government intervention to assist markets where these difficulties create a significant barrier to enterprise and innovation, and hence to productivity growth. Over recent years, the Government have played an important role in ensuring that markets work effectively and that any gaps or weaknesses are addressed. The provision of publicly supported finance schemes (loan, mezzanine and equity) for small businesses has increased significantly over the last few years, increasing access to funding for manufacturing firms and others in order to invest in new technologies and improve productivity.
	The Regional Venture Capital Fund (RVCF), an England-wide programme to provide risk capital in amounts up to £500,000, was created to support small growing companies, with £80 million of Government investment attracting a further £155 million from private sector investors. Capital North East (the North East RVCF) was launched in 2002, and the fund totalled £15 million.
	The consultation paper "Bridging the finance gap—a consultation on improving access to growth capital for small businesses" published jointly by HM Treasury and SBS/DTI in April 2003 set out what more could be done to ensure that entrepreneurs have access to the finance they need to turn their ideas into thriving businesses. This led to the creation of Enterprise Capital Funds (ECFs), which will invest a combination of private and public money in small high-growth businesses seeking between £250,000 and £2 million of equity finance. Four funds have been approved to date, with the possibility of further funds being announced, and although not targeted specifically at the North East, they will be available to SMEs in the region. North East enterprise agency Entrust is a partner in the Seraphim Capital Fund, one of the successful funds announced last month, and will act to promote and co-ordinate applications from regional companies seeking growth funding.
	Among schemes to support social enterprise and growth in disadvantaged areas, the Bridges Community Development Venture Fund is a £40 million, 50:50 partnership between Government and the Venture Capital industry. The fund is targeted at the most deprived 25 per cent. of areas of England and includes a number of North East wards. The Coalfields Enterprise Fund was launched by the Deputy Prime Minister in early 2004 is a venture capital fund specifically set up to finance growth-oriented companies and to encourage entrepreneurship in England's former coalfield areas. Investments are on a 50:50 co-investment basis between £40,000 and £500,000.
	The North East Equity Matching Fund (NEEMF) is an innovative and unique venture capital co-investment fund which aims to generate and increase Business Angel activity in the North East of England. NEEMF can match, on a pari passu basis, investments made by private investors or business angels who may not have sufficient resources to wholly fund the business or where they wish to spread the risk. The investment range is from £25,000 to £100,000 in the first round with the capacity to aggregate up to £200,000 in a second round after nine months has elapsed. The total equity raised in the initial round must not exceed £250,000. Investments will usually be in the form of ordinary and/or preference shares and will be made at the same time as the private investment. The legal process is aimed at keeping time scales and costs to a minimum.
	European funding in the form of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is also used to support Venture Capital and Loan Funds (VCLFs) in the region. The North East Co-Investment Fund (CoIF) and the North East Proof of Concept (PoC) Fund are both managed by NorthStar Equity Investors. The Proof of Concept Fund is a convertible loan fund, investing in technology and science based SMEs and in activities leading to SME formation spun-out from the research and business base in the North East of England. The Co-Investment Fund (COIF) is a £23 million venture capital fund that invests alongside private investors in high-growth technology-focused SMEs.
	Equity is of course only a part of the overall funding picture and the North East region has also benefited from other publicly supported funds including the North East Investment Fund 3. Launched in 2003, this £18 million fund provides unsecured convertible loans for SMEs.

Women Entrepreneurs

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government have taken to promote venture capital funds for women entrepreneurs.

Margaret Hodge: The 'UK Survey of SME Finances 2004', identified that gender was not an issue for female entrepreneurs accessing external finance. Among established businesses, women-led businesses seek the same levels of external finance and are just as likely as male owned business to obtain the finance they sought.
	While there is no universal gender issue regarding access to finance, depending upon their personal circumstances, some women do experience problems. In light of this, the SBS, Women's Stakeholder Group and RDAs supported a series of regional 'Access to Finance' roadshow events for female entrepreneurs' between January and June 2006.

Departmental Estate

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what  (a) land and  (b) property his Department (i) owns and (ii) rents in each constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: The NIO holds 70 properties of which37 are leased and 33 owned.
	The constituency background is as follows:
	
		
			   Leased  Owned 
			 North Down 6 19 
			 West Belfast 1 0 
			 South Belfast 13 0 
			 East Belfast 10 4 
			 Londonderry 1 0 
			 Lagan Valley 0 2 
			 Mid Ulster 2 0 
			 West Tyrone 2 0 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1 0 
			 Strangford 1 8 
			 Total 37 33 
		
	
	The NIO does not hold any land other than the land on which the property is based.

Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost was of overnight accommodation for  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in each Northern Ireland Department, including the Northern Ireland Office, staying overnight in the (i) UK, (ii) the Republic of Ireland and (iii) other countries in each of the last three years.

David Hanson: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) The cost of overnight accommodation for civil servants employed by Northern Ireland Departments, excluding the Northern Ireland Office, for the period 1 November 2004 to 31 March 2006 is set out as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			   UK  ROI  Others 
			 2004-05 139 1.5 1.5 
			 
			  (wef 1 October 2004 onwards)
			 2005-06 276 7.4 8.4 
		
	
	These figures relate only to accommodation booked through the NICS contracted booking agent and do not include any accommodation booked through other channels as to obtain this information would be at disproportionate cost. Costs of accommodation booked through the booking agent prior to 1 November 2004 are not available. Costs by Department are also not available.
	The cost of overnight accommodation and subsistence for civil servants employed by the Northern Ireland Office for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2006 is as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			   Amount 
			 2003-04 456.9 
			 2004-05 375.5 
			 2005-06 472.3 
		
	
	It is not possible to separate the cost of overnight subsistence and hotel accommodation for NIO civil servants or to split the spend over UK, ROI and others except at disproportionate cost.
	 (b) The cost of overnight accommodation for special advisers for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2006 is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   UK  ROI  Others 
			 2003-04 77 209 1,044 
			 2004-05 324 0 263 
			 2005-06 1,416 172 0

Population Statistics

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons of working age there were in Northern Ireland in each March to May period since 1997; what proportion of those people were  (a) in employment,  (b) in full-time education or training,  (c) unemployed and  (d) economically inactive but not in full-time education or training; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The requested breakdown of the working age population in Northern Ireland can be found in the following table. It shows that during the period March-May 1997 to March-May 2005, the working population in NI increased by 59,000, with the proportion of those in employment increasing and the proportion unemployed falling. The proportion in full-time education also showed a slight increase, whereas there was a marginal fall in the proportion that were economically inactive but not in full-time education.
	
		
			  Breakdown of the NI working age population( 1) , 1997 to 2005 
			Percentage 
			  Reference period( 2)  Working age population  In Employment  Full-time education( 3)  Unemployed  Economically inactive (not in full-time education) 
			 1997 989,000 66.4 8.4 5.5 21.5 
			 1998 997,000 66.9 8.3 5.3 21.6 
			 1999 1,002,000 66.5 9.1 5.3 21.2 
			 2000 1,009,000 64.8 9.3 5.0 22.8 
			 2001 1,018,000 66.9 8.9 4.5 21.8 
			 2002 1,026,000 67.2 9.9 3.9 21.4 
			 2003 1,034,000 69.3 9.2 3.9 20.3 
			 2004 1,041,000 66.6 10.1 3.4 22.2 
			 2005 1,048,000 68.0 9.7 3.4 21.2 
			 (1) The working age population refers to ages 16-59 for females and 16-64 for males.  (2) Figures relate to the period March to May of each year.  (3) It is possible for persons to be counted under the full-time education category and also under the 'In employment' or 'Unemployed' categories e.g. if a full-time student also has a part-time job. The categories are therefore not mutually exclusive and will total to a figure in excess of 100 per cent.   Source:  NI Labour Force Survey.

Preventive Health Care

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been allocated to preventative health care for men, with particular reference to early detection of prostate cancer, in each trust area in Northern Ireland over the last three years.

Paul Goggins: It is not possible to identify the money allocated to preventative healthcare for men in each trust area. Health promotion initiatives such as tobacco and diet control are targeted at men and women.
	No specific funding has been allocated by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for the early detection of prostate cancer to each trust.
	The National Screening Committee has reviewed the current research evidence and does not recommend screening for prostate cancer. The main reason is that the current tests have limited accuracy and so follow up procedures could cause harm to healthy men. Men with prostate cancer symptoms are encouraged to seek early advice from their GP. They may ask for a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test. However, to enable them to make an informed decision about the PSA test, they need to know about its limitations and the potential side effects which may occur following surgery, these include incontinence and impotence.

Programme for Building Sustainable Prosperity

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what legal costs have been incurred by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the judicial reviews by Hillsborough golf club in respect of their application for funding under the programme for building sustainable prosperity.

David Cairns: The Department's fees associated with these legal procedures are estimated to be £52,000.00 excluding VAT.

Tourism

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Northern Ireland Tourist Board has to target potential tourists from the Republic of Ireland during summer 2006.

Maria Eagle: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board office in Dublin includes a Tourist Information Centre (TIC) and also a Marketing Team. The purpose of the Dublin office is to promote tourism in Northern Ireland to Republic of Ireland (RoI) residents, International tourists holidaying in Ireland, Travel Trade, Business Tourism and RoI Media.
	Currently the NITB advertising budget for the Republic of Ireland for 2006-07 is £469,000.
	Promotion to potential tourists from RoI during 2006 is already well under way through a series of marketing activities which include:
	(a) Tourist Information Centre services—Reservations, Information and Short-Break Brochure promotion;
	(b) Travel Trade Assistance, Support and Familiarisation Trips to Northern Ireland;
	(c) Consumer Show promotion at various shows throughout Republic of Ireland;
	(d) PR which results in press coverage in RoI print media, radio and TV.
	The prime vehicle for promotion to RoI visitors during 2006 is via campaigns surrounding the Short Breaks Euro Brochure. This year's Short-Breaks brochure is being complemented by a number of tactical marketing campaigns which include promotions via the national RoI press, radio advertising, web promotions, and direct mail etc.

Army Personnel (Working Hours)

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours were worked per week on average at each regular trained junior rank in the Army in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

Tom Watson: The Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) carry out a continuous sample survey of working patterns which provides ah estimate of the average working hours per person, per week, for each service, but the sample is insufficient to report on average working hours at the level of detail requested.
	The results of the 2004-05 survey gave an estimate of an average of 46.7 "hours worked" per week for all regular trained junior ranks in the Army. Data for 2005-06 are not yet available.
	"Hours worked" includes time spent carrying out normal work, secondary duties, compulsory fitness training, organised sports and representational activities, but excludes meal and tea breaks and time spent on call. The figures are not therefore comparable to calculations of "hours worked" in civilian professions.

Hutton Report

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what time of day, and on what day, the press statement from his predecessor, the right hon. Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon), on the appointment ofLord Hutton to conduct an inquiry into the deathof Dr. David Kelly was  (a) cleared for release and (b) released under embargo to the media.

Des Browne: My right hon. Friend, the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon) did not issue a press statement on the appointment of Lord Hutton while he was serving as the Secretary of State for Defence. A press notice was issued by the Department for Constitutional Affairs on 21 July 2003.

Iraq

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many casualties were treated by 33 Field Hospital in the period 18 March 2003 to 18 May 2003; and how many of those were classed as injured in combat.

Tom Watson: holding answer 8 May 2006
	From the 17 March until the 8 April 2003, 33 Field Hospital was deployed in Iraq as the theatre reserve. It then returned to the United Kingdom. We are currently verifying its records for the period it was deployed to Iraq. I will write to the right hon. Gentleman once this process is complete.

Complementary Medicine

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what complementary medicine is provided by the NHS; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will estimate how much the NHS has spent on providing complementary medicine to patients in each year since 1997;
	(3)  what guidelines are issued to general practitioners concerning referrals to complementary medicine practitioners; and whether there are requirements for the effectiveness of complementary therapies to be scientifically substantiated.

Caroline Flint: The Government consider that decision making on individual clinical interventions, using either complementary or more orthodox treatments, is a matter for local national health service providers and practitioners. There are therefore no centrally held records on what complementary medicines are provided by the NHS or how much is spent on their provision.
	When making any clinical decision, general practitioners are expected to consider safety and effectiveness. In 2000, the Department produced an information pack for both primary care groups and primary care clinicians to provide a basic source of reference on complementary medicine and to support individual clinical judgment

Connecting for Health

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the progress statistics alongside targets on the Connecting for Health website.

Caroline Flint: National programme for information technology cluster deployment statistics are already routinely published on the NHS Connecting for Health website, and updated in a form which provides a comprehensive, at-a-glance snapshot of progress to date. They can be found at:
	www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/delivery/servicemanagement/statistics/service
	A summary of NHS Connecting for Health programme and management activity targets is contained in the agency's annual business plan. The 2005-06 business plan is published on the agency website at:
	http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/publications/busplans
	A copy of the 2006-07 business plan will be published shortly.
	If suggestions are received for publication of further national programme performance statistics, and how these compare with those of other information technology service delivery organisations, they will be considered.

Haemophiliacs

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many haemophiliacs have been infected by  (a) Hepatitis C,  (b) AIDS and (c) both Hepatitis C and AIDS as a result of NHS treatment for their illness.

Caroline Flint: Most patients with haemophilia who were treated with blood products before the introduction of virus-inactivation procedures were infected with the hepatitis C virus.
	The number of haemophilia patients infected with HIV/AIDS is 1,243. Most patients infected with HIV were co-infected with hepatitis C.

High Voltage Transmission Lines

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies she has commissioned into the health effects of living in very close proximity to high voltage transmission lines; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Department's radiation protection research programme supports a number of studies investigating the possible health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF). These range from laboratory work on possible cellular effects to large population studies. A study by Dr. Draper and colleagues of childhood leukaemia incidence and distance from power lines, funded under this programme and published in the  British Medical Journal (BMJ) last year, has added to a large existing body of work in this area (BMJ Vol 330, 4 June 2005). In addition to its own research programme, the Department, along with the Health and Safety Executive, has supported the World Health Organization's International EMF Project since it started in 1997.
	The Health Protection Agency's radiation protection division (HPA-RPD) keeps the worldwide research findings on EMF and health under review. In 2004, on the basis of a comprehensive review of the existing body of research to date, the HPA-RPD (previously the national radiological protection board) recommended the adoption of new EMF exposure guidelines in this country. In addition, in view of the scientific uncertainties in relation to power frequency electromagnetic fields, the HPA recommended the Government
	"consider the need for further precautionary measures".
	They have also noted that the majority of elevated magnetic fields are due to variations in the electricity supply and distribution system, the presence of substations and equipment in the home rather than proximity to high voltage overhead cables.
	Practical precautionary measures are now being considered in detail by a stakeholder advisory group (SAGE) that includes the Government Departments, agencies, electricity industry, specialists and public concern groups. Details of the process can be found on the website at: www.rkpartnership.co.uk/sage.

National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason section 28 of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 has not been implemented.

Andy Burnham: The purpose of Section 28 of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 is to provide redress for the way the professional regulatory bodies have carried out any of their functions. Section 28 remains unimplemented to allow regulatory bodies a chance to consider, and amend if necessary, how any function is exercised.
	Once the reviews of medical and non-medical professional regulation are published, we will consider the implementation of Section 28.